Indian tribal man eats deadly snake after it bites him

Patna: A man from the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand chewed and swallowed a venomous snake shortly after it had bitten him in a field, astounding doctors who treated him. The man is said to be in perfect health.

The bizarre incident took place in the weekend at Harmu village in Lohardaga district of Jharkhand state, some 300km south of Patna. The state which was carved out of Bihar in the year 2000 is surrounded by forests and hills.

Media reports said Surendra Oraon, 30, was working in the field at his village when a venomous snake emerged from a hole and bit him on Friday.

Instead of getting panicked, the victim, however, pounced on the snake, picked it up and chewed it alive except its head.

Reports said when his condition deteriorated, he rushed back home and told his family about the entire incident. It was then that he was admitted to a local government hospital for medical attention. After staying for a night at the hospital, he was discharged on Saturday by the doctors who found him in perfect health.

“We discharged him on Saturday morning as he was in perfect health after nightlong care. There is nothing to worry now,” Dr Shailesh Kumar who treated the victim told the local media.

According to the victim, he chewed the snake as he had heard of tribal villagers saying that eating snakes after being bitten by them saves life.

Tribal folks in Jharkhand have been in the grip of superstitions and are known to be doing many things to cure themselves. Tribals believe eating bats saves the people from brain strokes while feasting on bears saves from malaria.